As the twentieth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) approaches, abortion activists are marking out their priorities for governments to adopt for the next 20 years. To that end, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), along with various non-governmental organizations hosted, ICPD Global Youth Forum in Bali last week, touted by sponsors [...]
After repeatedly reintroducing the legislation for 14 years, the Philippines lower House has voted 113 to 104 to pass the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill at second reading – the most difficult stage. “This is a very dark day for the Philippines and for the fight for life and family around the world,” said Human [...]
Over 10,000 gathered outside Ireland’s parliament this week to demand that Prime Minister Enda Kenny keep his campaign promise of 2011 not to bring legalized abortion into the Republic. The crowd included five Catholic bishops, and was organized by a united effort of all of Ireland’s pro-life organizations. The thousands, chanting “Keep your promise!”, packed [...]
UN agency presses Peru to acknowledge the “sexual rights” of children and hands out free contraceptives to kids. The debate over a new Code on Childhood and Adolescence is raging in Peru. On the one side are UNICEF, UNFPA, Save the Children and a coalition of abortion-minded and radical feminist groups, many, if not most, [...]
Earlier this year, the pro-life community in southeast Russia celebrated a significant milestone. It was the birth of a baby boy named Denis. What was so important about little Denis? He was the 1,000th baby brought into this world through the assistance of the Adopt-a-Birth program in Vladivostok. The Adopt-a-Birth program is the brainchild of [...]
We’ve all encountered the media spectacle of General Petraeus’ affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell. In fact I’m sure most of us are quite sick of hearing about it. For me it hearkens back to the days of President Clinton and the 24-7 coverage of that sex scandal. Today, just as then, the media is [...]
At this point, the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar is “old” news, in that most people have been at least somewhat aware of of it. Most people in the Catholic and pro-life blogsopheres—to say nothing of the ideologues who oppose us—who will comment on it have already posted their preliminary thoughts. The forces at work [...]
Pro-life groups in Ireland fear that recommendations from a panel of experts appointed by Irish Health Minister James Reilly would be the first steps to introduce legal abortion in Ireland. The minister is expected to issue new regulations following the recommendations of an expert panel set up in January as a response to the European [...]
The result of the Presidential Election was hardly a foregone conclusion, for while the “progressive” candidate won again, it was by a reduced margin. And there were moments when even his own most earnest supporters thought he might lose, given the bad shape of the economy. His opponent, a former state governor with a reputation [...]
In these final few days of election season, wouldn’t it be a relief to read something informative, constructive, and positive? The political scene this year is filled with negativity and misinformation; yet, we are presented with two very clear choices, at least when it comes to the presidential race. The book Indivisible provides a positive [...]
Editors note: This was given as a homily on Sunday, October 14th, 2012 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in New Brighton, MN. The gospel was for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, Mark 10:17-30. Recently I spoke with a senior at a Catholic high school and he was telling me that [...]
A generation ago, in the 1970s, the U.S. intelligence community possessed the technology to discern whether or not a U.S. consulate was under attack by terrorists or by rioters run amok. Moreover, no one in the community ever wanted a superior, especially at the highest levels, to point to an article in the Washington Post [...]
Unless you’ve been living under the rock for the past month or so, you’ve probably noticed that the campaign season has kicked into overdrive. One of the critical voting blocks being targeted by Democrats are women. The airwaves are clogged and mailboxes stuffed with the message that the crusty old white men who comprise the [...]
Last Wednesday’s startling remarks from the Ontario Liberal Government’s Minister of Education Laurel Broten prohibiting teaching against abortion in Catholic schools have caused an outpouring of calls for the Minister’s resignation and for the scrapping of the recently-passed “anti-bullying” law which she cited as necessitating the prohibition. Broten has been rebuked the Cardinal Archbishop of Toronto, and [...]
Mitt Romney gave a generally fine speech [yesterday] on the Middle East. Sensibly, he criticized the Obama administration for its Benghazi shenanigans, for the “daylight” with Israel, fecklessness vis-à-vis Tehran, and the cuts in military spending. Very justifiably, he called it “time to change course in the Middle East.” But I worry about three specifics. First, [...]
Moroccan authorities have taken action against the floating abortion mill commandeered by the Dutch abortion group Women on Waves. In a press release today, the abortion activist group notes that their ship was due to arrive in the harbor of Smir at 1pm local time but was blocked by warships. “Marina Smir has been completely [...]
“Reports that the Chinese Party-State has ended its practice of forcibly aborting women pregnant in violation of the one-child policy are premature,” says Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute. Mosher, who blew the whistle on forced abortions in China back in 1980, points out that “The Chinese Party-State has asserted for over three [...]
Good news came from UNICEF today. The number of children under age 5 dying globally has dropped nearly in half since 1990. (This, of course, would not include the number of babies who die before they are born.) In 1990, nearly 12 million children died. That dropped to 6.9 million in 2011. UNICEF and the [...]
Few politicians are interested in making obscure UN treaties a political talking point. Nevertheless, the Republican and Democratic parties stand at polar opposites on the question of whether or not the United States should ratify new UN treaties, particularly human rights treaties. The platform adopted at the Republican National Convention last month specifically names four [...]
A panel of experts warned U.S. lawmakers this week that the UN Disabilities treaty could threaten the rights of parents and advance abortion rights. “This treaty… would allow unelected bureaucrats in Switzerland to determine the meaning of the words ‘disability’ and ‘sexual reproductive health,’ said Congressman Jeff Duncan following a briefing to the House Sovereignty [...]
The United States embassy of Egypt is under siege. According to Fox News, “Mainly ultraconservative Islamist protesters climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Egypt’s capital Tuesday and brought down the flag, replacing it with a black flag with an Islamic inscription to protest a video attacking Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. Hundreds of protesters marched to [...]
Editor’s note: For Greater Glory comes out on DVD on Tuesday, September 11th. In light of this, Leticia Velasquez interviewed Eduardo Verastegui, one of the film’s actors. Velasquez: Eduardo, when I interviewed you in 2009 in Connecticut, you mentioned wanting to do a film about the Cristeros. Tell me how you got involved in For [...]
Recently an Egyptian Muslim posted a YouTube videotape of himself cursing Islam, its holy book, the Koran, tearing the latter to pieces and throwing it in the garbage. Excerpts of what he said follow: There it is, Allah’s book, this is the basic catastrophe. I don’t know what day it is of this disgusting month [...]
We live in an age unique in human history. Per capita incomes have never been higher, lifespans have never been longer, and people are better fed and educated than ever before. At the same time, birth rates have fallen to historically low levels. In fact, they have fallen to levels so low that they will [...]
